NYC dining sheds’ planned return is making New Yorkers sick: ‘Inherently dangerous’

They’re back!

Polarizing pandemic-era sheds will be popping up across the Big Apple in a matter of weeks — to the dismay of those who thought the eyesores had gone the way of the phonebooth.

And residents have another wrinkle to worry about as a slew of downtown eateries are angling for fire-safety waivers from the city to allow the structures to return to narrow streets in the West Village, Soho and Little Italy.

The waivers permit sheds on streets where they obstruct the 15-foot fire lane clearance minimum.

The Fire Department said it “does not encourage” blocking the lanes — but reluctantly agreed to allow waivers on a case-by-case basis, according to a recently leaked July memo viewed by The Post.

“It’s more important to have a fire engine get to my door than a couple of diners eating ceviche and Grenache in the roadway,” griped Leslie Clark of the West Village Residents Association, who said the April 1 start of the outdoor dining season is a disaster waiting to happen.

Clark was among those who turned out this week to a public hearing held by the city Department of Transportation to voice concerns over waiver requests by restaurants around the West Village.

“It’s just inherently dangerous for this for the neighborhood,” insisted West Village resident Leif Arntzen.

So far, roughly 1,400 restaurants have reapplied for shed permits – including at least 64 in and around the Village that would be allowed to violate the fire lane clearance, records show.

Three of the 64 have already received DOT approval to install their dining sheds, and applications for the rest remain under review, records show.

Manhattan’s Community Board 2, which represents Greenwich Village, Little Italy, SoHo, NoHo, Hudson Square and Chinatown, this week urged the city to reject about half a dozen waiver applications.

“We’re very concerned, especially on Cornelia Street. It’s a very narrow street,” said CB 2’s Valerie De La Rosa.

Yet most shed applications are expected to be approved in time for the start of the new season, according to the Department of Transportation, which approves the requests through the Dining Out NYC program.

“We are proud that outdoor dining is now a permanent part of our city’s streetscape,” said a DOT spokesperson.

And that could be a problem, according to Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.

“Outdoor dining structures bring a whole host of new challenges for NYC firefighters in our mission to protect the lives and property of NYC residents,” said Ansbro.

“We have had instances where firefighters could not open the doors of the rig and get out because the street had become so narrow. “We shouldn’t be making the mission of protecting life and property any more difficult.”

The COVID era spawned anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 outdoor dining structures on the streets of NYC.

But the city ordered the removal of all street sheds back in November. Restaurants can reapply for shed permits for a limited 2025 season, from April 1 to Nov. 29.

The pandemic-era dining program left many dilapidated and abandoned.

The eyesores often attracted rats, drug deals and were sometimes used as sex dens.

The FDNY did not return calls for comment.

Additional reporting by Rich Calder